Toy straw with an internal fountain

ABSTRACT

A toy in the form of a straw for drinking fluids. The straw has an enlarged transparent section, forming a chamber, near its center, and is shaped so that the chamber is clearly visible to the user. The vacuum caused when sucking fluid through the straw creates a rush of fluid which forms an amusing fountain within the chamber. Interest may be further increased by the addition of a fountain-related object, within or external to the straw. It may create the illusion of a whale or a dolphin spouting, a fireman spraying water, a rainstorm or a child&#39;&#39;s head, etc. The chamber may have an opening to permit easy cleaning. It may also be used with separate throw-away straws.

United States Patent [1 1 3,879,885

Fabricant Apr. 29, 1975 TOY STRAW WITH AN INTERNAL OTHER PUBLICATIONSFOUNTAIN Home Experiments in Science, by Sloane. dated:

[76] Inventor: Norman A. Fabricant, 307 Martense 1888 67-69- St.,Brooklyn, NY. 11226 [22] Filed: Mar. 31, 1971 Primary E.\'aminerE. BarryShay Assistant Examiner-J. Q. Lever [2]] Appl 129,846 Attorney. Agent,or FirmBreitenfeld & Levine 57 AB TRACT [52] U.S. Cl. 46/44 S [51] lift.Cl A63h 29/16 A tQy in the form of a straw for drinking fluids, TheFleld of Search 46/41, straw has an enlarged transparent section,forming a 220/85 chamber. near its center, and is shaped so that thechamber is clearly visible to the user. The vacuum References Citedcaused when sucking fluid through the straw creates a UNITED STATESPATENTS rush of fluid which forms an amusing fountain within 94.1558/1869 Weber 46/55 the Chamber. Interest may be further increased by the2.544.594 3 1951 Goldfarb 46/41 addition Of a fountain-related j tWithin Or exter- 2,811,808 11/!957 Briesc 239/33 na] to the straw. Itmay create the illusion of a whale 3,315.405 4/1967 Hoffman 239/33 or adolphin spouting. a fireman spraying water, a rainstorm or a childshead. etc. The chamber may FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS have anopening to permit easy cleaning. It may also 29 1/1887 United Kingdom239/74 be used with Separate throw-away straws 11 Claims, 4 DrawingFigures TOY STRAW WITH AN INTERNAL FOUNTAIN CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATEDAPPLICATIONS I have simultaneously filed two other closely relatedpatent applications, TOY STRAW WITH AN INTER- NAL FOUNTAIN-PROPELLEDOBJECT," and TOY STRAW WITH AN INTERNAL MOVING OB- .IECT. All threeshould be considered together.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION My invention relates to toys andin particular to straws through which people will drink milk and otherbeverages.

The purpose of my invention is to provide an amusing toy, and alsoprovide a device that will create a diversion to make fluid intake morepleasurable for those children who do not like milk, juice, etc.

The unique feature of my invention is the creation of a fountain withinan enlarged portion of the straw, by the normal sucking action of achild. The fountain effect may be enhanced by adding a fountain-relatedsubject to the straw. For example, the fountain could become the spoutof a whale. For purposes of cleanliness, the enlarged area may have anopening with a removable cover, yielding easy access to the fountainarea. For sanitary reasons, and for simplicity of manufacture, insteadof a full-sized straw, the chamber may be fabricated with connectingmeans to permit the use of separate, washable, or throw-away plastic orpaper straws.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS To obtain a complete understanding ofthis toy in its various forms, I offer the following detaileddescription with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a child sucking fluid through the straw,creating a fountain.

FIG. 2 is an elevation view of a straw where the fountain representsrain falling on a figure within the chamber.

FIG. 3 is an elevation view ofa straw where the fountain represents awhales spout.

FIG. 4 is an elevation view of a straw place within a toy whale.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a child 1 drinkingfluid 2 from a glass 3 with the aid of the toy straw. The toy comprisesa straw with an immersion section 4, and oral section 5, and an enlargedsection forming a chamber 6, located between the immersion and oralsections. The fountain 7 is formed within the chamber.

When the child sucks on the free end of the oral section of the straw,he creates a vacuum in the chamber. The fluid is forced up the immersionsection by the relatively higher ambient air pressure. A child suckinggently can create a pressure differential sufficient to cause an on-rushof fluid resulting in a fluid fountain within the chamber. The harderthe child sucks, the larger will be the fountain.

The straw should be transparent, with plastic a likely choice ofmaterials. The section of straw which is placed in the glass should befairly rigid so the child may seek out the last few drops of fluid. Thesection of straw entering the childs mouth may be of the same material,or it may be more flexible for safety. Both of these sections of thestraw must be attached to the chamber in a manner that minimizes air andfluid leakage.

As a general rule, the various straw sections should be shaped andarranged so the chamber is clearly visible to the user of the straw. InFIG. 1, both the oral section and the immersion section of the strawenter the chamber from the bottom. This effectively places the chamberand its display at eye level where it is best appreciated. There is nofunctional reason why this configuration must be maintained. The fluidwill squirt into the chamber regardless of the relative positions orattitudes of the junctions, be they top, bottom, side, or combinationthereof.

The chamber may be a continuous, closed surface, except where it isjoined to the oral and immersion sections, or it may have an opening 8which is sealed with a removable sealing means 9, such as a snap-on cap,screw-on cap, cork, etc. The opening will provide manufacturing accessif required, and will permit easier washing subsequent to use of thetoy. The location and size of the opening and its sealing means are notcritical.

The immersion section, and/or the oral section of the straw maycommunicate with the chamber by passing through the removable sealingmeans.

Markings 10 may be placed on the chamber to permit the size of thefountain to be measured. These markings may be graduations, numbers,words, etc. Using these markings, children may compete infountain-making contests.

The extremities of the straw may be slightly widened into a flare-mouthll, facilitating an inflow of water for washing the straw.

FIG. 2 shows a variation of the toy with the immersion section 12 of thestraw entering the chamber 13 from the top. Within the chamber is afigure 14 with an umbrella. When the child sucks on the oral section 15,he creates an April Shower" in the chamber. The chamber may be decoratedwith sun, birds, flowers, etc. to enhance the image.

Many combinations are possible wherein the representation of afountain-related subject is located within the chamber.

FIG. 3 shows a disc-like shape for the chamber 16. Within the chamber isa whale l7, and the fountain 18 appears to be the whales spout. Manycombinations are possible with representations of fountain-relatedsubjects, wherein the fountain appears to emanate from the subject.

It is not always necessary to place an actual object within the chamber.If the chamber is thin, the illusion of the whale spouting, or of anyfountain-related subject, will be equally effective with just arepresentation of the subject rendered in two dimentions on the surfaceof the chamber.

Instead of having full-length oral and immersion sections attachedpermanently to the chamber, two short tapered appurtenances l9 and 20protrude from the chamber. Standard discardable paper or plastic straws21 and 22 fit snugly over the appurtenances to complete the toy. Thisarrangement has manufacturing and packaging advantages and is moresanitary. Appurtenance 20 is bent so that the oral and immersion straw22 may be angled directly towards the childs mouth.

If reusable separable straws are utilized, they may be flare-mouthed,and the appurtenances need not be tapered, still maintaining the snugfit. It is not necessary that this type of appurtenance be used. Anycoupling means may be used to separably connect straw sections to thechamber, as long as a tight joint results.

' FIG. 4 shows a chamber 23 in the form of a vial. The open end of thevial is plugged with a cork 24. Through this removable sealing meanspasses an immersion straw section 25, and oral straw section 26. Thisassembly is combined with a toy whale 27, so that the fountain 28 seemsto be spouting from the whales head. Many combinations are possiblewhere a representation of a fountain-related subject may belocated'external to the chamber.

Amongst the many applicable subjects that may be used with the fountainare elephants, dolphins, fireboats, firemen, Old Faithful, publicfountains of note, soda or beer bottles for advertising, etc.

Although I have described my invention with a certain degree ofparticularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has beenmade only by way of example and that various changes in the details ofconstruction and the combination and arrangement of parts may beresorted to without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe inventionhereinafter claimed.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters' Patent of theUnited States is:

1. A toy, of the nature of a straw for drinking liquids, comprising astraw having an immersion section adapted to be placed in a drinkingglass containing liquid, an oral section adapted to be placed in themouth, and a chamber located between said immersion section and saidoral section of said straw, said oral section of said straw terminatingat the bottom wall of said chamher so that all the liquid which enterssaid chamber can flow out of the chamber through said oral section,suction at said oral section creating a fountain of liquid within saidchamber, said chamber being formed at least in part of transparentmaterial and said fountain projecting into said transparent part so thatsaid fountain of liquid is clearly visible from outside said chamber.

2. A toy, according to claim 1, wherein said chamber has an openingwhich is sealed with a removable sealing means.

3. A toy, according to claim 2, wherein at least one of said sections ofsaid straw communicates with the chamber through the removable sealingmeans.

4. A toy, according to claim 1, wherein markings are placed on said toy,permitting the size of said fountain to be measured.

5. A toy, according to claim 1, wherein coupling means are provided toseparably connect at least one of said sections of said straw to saidchamber.

6. A toy, according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said sections ofsaid straw is flare-mouthed.

7. A toy, according to claim 1, in combination with the representationof a fountain-related subject associated with said chamber.

8. A toy, according to claim 7, wherein said representation is locatedwithin said chamber.

9. A toy, according to claim 7, wherein said representation is atwo-dimentional rendering on the surface of said chamber.

10. A toy, according to claim 7, wherein said representation is externalto said chamber.

11. A toy, according to claim 7, wherein said fountain appears toemanate from said representation.

1. A toy, of the nature of a straw for drinking liquids, comprising astraw having an immersion section adapted to be placed in a drinkingglass containing liquid, an oral section adapted to be placed in themouth, and a chamber located between said immersion section and saidoral section of said straw, said oral section of said straw terminatingat the bottom wall of said chamber so that all the liquid which enterssaid chamber can flow out of the chamber through said oral section,suction at said oral section creating a fountain of liquid within saidchamber, said chamber being formed at least in part of transparentmaterial and said fountain projecting into said transparent part so thatsaid fountain of liquid is clearly visible from outside said chamber. 2.A toy, according to claim 1, wherein said chamber has an opening whichis sealed with a removable sealing means.
 3. A toy, according to claim2, wherein at least one of said sections of said straw communicates withthe chamber through the removable sealing means.
 4. A toy, according toclaim 1, wherein markings are placed on said toy, permitting the size ofsaid fountain to be measured.
 5. A toy, according to claim 1, whereincoupling means are provided to separably connect at least one of saidsections of said straw to said chamber.
 6. A toy, according to claim 1,wherein at least one of said sections of said straw is flare-mouthed. 7.A toy, according to claim 1, in combination with the representation of afountain-related subject associated with said chamber.
 8. A toy,according to claim 7, wherein said representation is located within saidchamber.
 9. A toy, according to claim 7, wherein said representation isa two-dimentional rendering on the surface of said chamber.
 10. A toy,according to claim 7, wherein said representation is external to saidchamber.
 11. A toy, according to claim 7, wherein said fountain appearsto emanate from said representation.